Thursday, January 31, 2019

John Borrows will deliver 2019 Hagey Lecture

Save the date: John Borrows, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law,  will deliver the 2019 Hagey Lecture, “Living Indigenous Law in Canada,” at the University of Waterloo on March 25.

The Hagey Lecture will take place at 7:00 p.m. in Federation Hall. Online registration opens on February 25.

Borrows' forthcoming book, Law’s Indigenous Ethics, examines how Indigenous law can shed light on Canadian law's approach to treaties, Aboriginal title, legal education, and the continuing legacy of residential schools. The Anishinaabe legal lens for this event is organized around seven grandmother/grandfather teachings: love, truth, bravery, humility, wisdom, honesty and respect. Anishinaabe stories, language, theories and practices are blended with detailed analysis of Canadian case law, statutes, policies and constitutional practices to illustrate the possibilities and limits of the grandmother/grandfather teachings.

Borrows is the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Victoria Law School in British Columbia. His publications include Recovering Canada: The Resurgence of Indigenous Law, which received the Donald Smiley Award for the best book in Canadian Political Science in 2002, Canada's Indigenous Constitution, which won the 2011 Canadian Law and Society Best Book Award, Drawing Out Law: A Spirit's Guide, Freedom and Indigenous Constitutionalism, which received the Donald Smiley Award for the best book in Canadian Political Science for 2016. He is the 2017 Killam Prize winner in Social Sciences. Borrows is Anishinaabe/Ojibway and a member of the Chippewa of the Nawash First Nation in Ontario, Canada.

Electronic IP Disclosure Form submissions are due

A message from the Office of Research.

The deadline to disclose Intellectual Property (IP) and commercialization information using the Electronic IP Disclosure Form is today.

For faculty who have never completed the form, it is especially important to do so. For those who completed the form last year, it will only take a few minutes to update it with new information. For faculty members without IP/commercialization information to disclose, the form can be completed in just a minute or so.

The questionnaire has been designed to facilitate annual collection of IP and commercialization information to meet Policy 73 requirements. Completion of the form helps to accurately recognize Waterloo’s expertise in innovation, entrepreneurship, IP creation, and commercialization.

More information about IP disclosure and how many faculty members have completed the form is available on the Policy 73 webpage. Please email policy73form@uwaterloo.ca if you have any questions.

Raise awareness for World Cancer Day with ribbon campaign

A message from the Healthy Workplace Committee.

World Cancer Day is almost here. Every year on February 4, World Cancer Day is celebrated to get as many people around the world as possible talking about cancer.

World Cancer Day aims to save millions of preventable deaths yearly by raising awareness about the disease, and leveraging governments and individuals across the world into action. Just alone in 2018, cancer was responsible for approximately 9.6 million deaths, and this number is expected to rise if proper action is not implemented. It is crucial to spread the word and take part in this initiative.

This year’s theme is “I Am and I Will”, which reflects your involvement in cancer awareness; it gives you the power to make change. So think about what you will do this year to promote cancer prevention for yourself, your family, your community, and the world.

You may visit https://www.worldcancerday.org/ to learn more about World Cancer Day, and any activities/events taking place near you!

To get all the employers involved across campus, the Healthy Workplace Committee Healthy Workplace website will be providing cancer ribbons that you can pin on to acknowledge the day.

Please contact Occupational Health to request ribbons for your department.

Thursday's notes

More than 600 people came out to the JG Hagey Hall of the Humanities last night to hear Professor Donna Strickland deliver the President’s Lecture. Strickland won the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 for the development of chirped pulse amplification. A fireside chat followed, which Kate Lunau of Motherboard moderated.

"In response to the current extreme cold weather conditions, Plant Operations is working hard to monitor our systems and ensure that heating services are maintained," says a note from Plant Operations that was circulated to faculty and staff yesterday. "However, given the extreme conditions, certain buildings or locations may experience temporary cold spots. Should this occur, be assured we are working diligently to correct and resolve issues as they arise as quickly as possible." 

"We appreciate your patience at this time. Given the current weather forecast, we expect the situation to continue over the next few days," the memo from Director of Business Operations Rex Coffin continues. "As always, if there are significant concerns for your area, please contact Plant Operations at ext. 36318 for non-emergencies or ext. 33793 for emergencies."

"To minimize non-urgent calls, please keep in mind that slightly colder temperatures may be experienced in some areas."

The University of Waterloo Staff Association is seeking nominations from its members for two committees and one working group in need of staff representation.

• Four positions on the Mission, Vision, Values (MVV) UWSA Board Working Group;
• Four positions on the UWSA President’s Stipend Review Committee (two positions at two years; two positions at four years); and
• One position on the UWSA Nominating Committee.

To apply for any of the positions, fill out and submit the online web form by Wednesday, February 13. Please direct any questions to the chair of UWSA Nominating Committee Gail Spencer at staffasc@uwaterloo.ca (DC 3609).